A NEW police station on wheels is about to hit the roads of North Yorkshire as the force takes crime fighting to people's doorsteps.

The new project, which is costing £187,000, will see "white van man" take on a whole new meaning across the highways and byways of the county. And one of its beats will cover the North York moors area of Goathland where television's popular rural police series Heartbeat is filmed.

Currently a 7-ton white van is being specially built to create a "travelling cop shop."

And while the police station will not have its own cells, it will include a self-contained office, linked by computer to police headquarters and ideal for one-to-one confidential meetings with a community officer.

Police have pledged that the travelling station will hit the road by May 1.

The scheme is being spearheaded by PC Simon Caukwell, who said the pilot project would initially concentrate on an area including Thirsk, Northallerton, Stokesley, Bedale, Scarborough, Whitby, Malton and Pickering.

Cash for the project has come from the government as part of its initiative to tackle problems facing rural policing.

The project will run for a year and then be reviewed with the possibility of its being extended to other rural areas in the county.

PC Caukwell, the Hambleton community safety officer, said the station on wheels would be used to target rural communities hit by crimes. Parish councils could also request a visit from the station which would be driven by a civilian.

Already the police van is earmarked to visit agricultural shows and other public events.

The project will link with a string of neighbourhood watch schemes and a spokesman for North Yorkshire police said: "A key element of the project is to get it out on the road. It would be wasted stuck in a garage somewhere and never seen.

"We see it developing into a vital piece of equipment for the force, supporting specific projects and also being used as a drop-in centre for crime-fighting in rural areas."

The large van will have a display area for police material and there will be disabled access